Cheese in The Trap OTP: Yoo Jung and Seol are Perfectly Imperfect Couple

Cheese in The Trap OTP: Yoo Jung and Seol are Perfectly Imperfect Couple

Referring to my review of the Cheese in The Trap Webtoon before, I want to say that I feel bad I have questioned Yoo Jung‘s motivation towards Seol before I read the webtoon until half of the season 3. Yoo Jung’s past behavior is indeed shady and he’s not your typical male lead, he’s smart and manipulative but his feelings for Seol is genuine. Yes, this guy is madly in love with her because she is the only person who can completely accept him despite his flaws and dark side. The webtoon has been adapted to a drama starring Park Hae Jin (You Who Came From Stars) and Kim Go Eun as the respective main leads, I love the drama because both actors are delivering great performance and their chemistry is off the chart and very natural. They are perfect as Cheese in The Trap OTP (One True Pairing).

The drama is going very well until the production team decided to shift the focus to the second lead, Baek In Ho played by Seo Kang Joon. The production team is totally ruining it when they decided to cut many of Yoo Jung’s scenes since he is the main reason why this show is so interesting. Now Cheese in The Trap drama has officially ended and I read the ending is quite f*cked up. I guess I need to prepare my heart before I watch the finale, this is why I always warn myself not to be emotionally invested in a Korean drama, most of K-Dramas always take the wrong turn in the middle of the series and it can be derailed to a very bad direction. Anyway, just to relieve some of my frustration toward this series, I will discuss my personal opinion about Yoo Jung, Seol and their relationship. This is based on my knowledge both from webtoon and drama.

First of all, I love the webtoon and I was curious about who is going to play these awesome characters in the drama adaptation. Park Hae Jin is a veteran actor and he is an excellent choice as Jung, I think he is only handicapped by his mature looks (he’s 33 years old, while Jung supposed to be 25 years old). He nailed every complex expression flawlessly and it feels like he is coming straight away from the webtoon itself (He is a beautiful man indeed!). Kim Go Eun as our favorite heroine, Seol, is solid, natural and adorable, it’s no wonder that she got lots of recognition from her movie projects before. Her wide acting range and charming looks will take her very far in the industry for sure.

Frankly, I think Park Hae Jin is too old to play a college student and Kim Go Eun is 8 years younger than him. You can see the age difference right away when they are together, she’s like his much younger sister. Luckily, their performances is superb, due to their crazy chemistry I hardly notice the age gap anymore, I adore every scene of them together. I think their character become much more interesting when they are with each other, the strong attraction is undeniable and I love how they always intrigued each other with every little thing in life. Jung and Seol represent how hard a relationship can be in real life and sometimes love alone is not enough to sustain it for the long run.

Jung is a very complex and intriguing character, many are accusing him as a sociopath, that he is not good enough for our sweet heroine, Seol. I actually have the same opinion before, he initially creeps me out (especially with the flashback of his childhood times) but trust me you will change your mind after you read the webtoon thoroughly. Yoo Jung is fiercely manipulative because that’s the only way he can express his dissatisfaction to the world, he comes from a rich family where his father demands him to act accordingly and apparently his mother is absent as well.

Jung is lonely and reserved, he can’t trust other people because most of them only want something from him, hence he hides behind a perfect facade to hide his inner struggle. He can be both super creepy and very sweet, a two completely different persona. Seol is the only one who knows both dark Jung and sweet (genuine) Jung, cementing her special position in his heart.

Seol in the other hand is a sweetheart. She is smart, hard worker and kind. However she’s not perfect either, she is timid and often reluctant to speak up for herself. Due to her sensitive nature, she can detect Jung’s real personality right away and it resulted badly on her side. When you get the wrong side of Jung, he will torture you until you reach your limit and Seol is smart enough to realize how cunning this boy can be.

Seol was touched by his sudden change of behavior that she never thought Jung has this soft side of him, a vulnerable boy who cares for her and showers her with praise and acknowledgement, something that she never got even from her family. Seol is a great heroine too, mainly because she never let Jung or others to be fully control of her mindset and decision. When provoked, she can be very fierce and strong, definitely not your typical ‘candy’ heroine.

Jung and Seol is similar yet fundamentally different. Both are introverts and it’s hard for them to be easily liked by others, they are diligent and often being stereotyped as ‘a pushover’ due to their amicable facade. Their main difference is their empathy towards people. Jung is very logical and see this world in a black and white spectacles, his principle in life is an eye for an eye. When you do wrong, he will punish you back right away, he has no consideration of other people’s feeling and a proper moral compass in his life. Unlike Jung, Seol always can see the best of people no matter what, this is why she can befriend the rude and selfish Baek In Ho or accept the cold and manipulative Jung.

Seol understands that Jung can be very overwhelming and ruthless but underneath his dark side, he is just a lonely and childish boy who can’t just let go every little things that get taken away from him. Nevertheless, she loves him unconditionally and gradually she tries to be his moral compass in life. Through Seol, Jung can learn how to empathize with others and it’s wrong to hurt other people because eventually it will backfire you later, in other words KARMA will definitely haunt him down. Jung had experienced this several times, with the cost of Seol’s degrading trust for him or how he lost Baek In Ho, who was his best friend.

There is no single doubt that Seol and Jung are madly in love with each other after tackling so many obstacles and misunderstanding between them. If you read the webtoon, even Baek In Ho realized this. Despite his growing affection for Seol, he never tried to cross the line. They are strictly friends and there is no such thing as love triangle whatsoever like what the drama tried to shove on us. In Ho respect their relationship and he is never sinking that low to try to jeopardize their relationship.

The deep emotional connection between Seol and Jung is undeniably very strong and there are so many touching conversation between them that you can’t watch in the drama, it’s such a pity so much important scenes were not included in the drama adaptation. Although I must say some of the drama scenes are very touching too, in the first 10 episodes, I think this drama can do no wrong, alas all good things must come to an end.

Why they are perfect for each other? Because Seol needs Jung to encourage her to stand up for herself and boost her confidence, while Jung needs Seol to tone down his manipulative way and learn to empathize. People may stated that Seol will be fine without Jung as he needs Seol more than she needs him. I disagree with that because in the recent chapters they have became too attached with each other.

In Seol’s mundane life, Jung has become source of comfort, someone she can lean on during her hardest time. While Jung seen Seol as his most important person, someone who can accept him no matter what and trust him as a person. They bring the best out of each other and this is the main reason why Cheese in The Trap is very intriguing and popular. Readers like to see how both main leads grow within their relationship.

Some people may argue that it’s hard to change a person’s basic habit and I do agree with that. Jung is not a nice guy, he can be very ruthless and downright brutal but no one is perfect, even Seol has her greed and downside as well. Basically all humans are capable to be good and bad, it all depends on your choice. But if you judging on how Jung treats Seol and Baek siblings before, you know he is actually very capable to love and empathize with others. He just need to learn to trust people again. And seriously this guy is so damn smart, he can understand people strengths and weaknesses very well just by observing them. Hence the reason why he can manipulate them without even doing anything himself. If he can only use this talent to do good, like what he did to Seol, I think his world will be a much better place. Ultimately, he needs to understand that he is unable to control everything in this world no matter how smart and powerful you are.

Like any other couples in the world, Seol and Jung fight and reconcile so many times. Relationship between two people is never easy let alone being in relationship with someone as complicated as Jung. They are both imperfect, wounded by their past and family, but this is why they are so perfect for each other. They are not afraid to become vulnerable and reveal their deepest wound to each other. And this is what love supposed to be, to accept each other’s flaws before everything else because eventually you will only have each other to lean on.

I sincerely hope in the webtoon Jung and Seol will get their happy ending unlike what happened in the drama. Their love story is very much the pillar of the series along with Jung’s complex personality. So dear author please give them the happy ending because these two need each other so bad and they deserve to be happy more than anything. JungxSeol for the endgame, amen.

So what do you think about this couple? Are they meant for each other or they deserve better? Let me know about your opinion for Cheese in The Trap OTP in the comment section!

Pictures Credit to: dramabeans.com, Tumblr (if some of the webtoon pictures are yours, just message me so I can give credit, thanks!)

15 thoughts on “Cheese in The Trap OTP: Yoo Jung and Seol are Perfectly Imperfect Couple”

Daeebaaakkk (y)
*clapping
couldn’t agree more ^^
you should be the writers-nim instead
kekeke
this article should be read by PD-nim and crew
uri Sunbae it’s not like what they’ve described in the drama
and hopefully Soonkki-ssi make the best happy ending for JungxSeol

Wow! what a review! I had my worries for Seol when I read the first season of the webtoon, but then the more I read it, the more I found myself deeply invested in Jung, how I should understand him, how intrigued I am with his character, and then I realized saying someone is bad or good is too simple. Jung is a multilayer character and we need to put down our presumptions to get to know him. He’s such a beautiful character. Sometimes Jung reminds me of my own childhood, when I was often misunderstood because of my introverted personality. And how my relationships with others didn’t turn out the way I thought they should be because I didn’t bother sharing others my thoughts. I think Jung is the same, he’s an introverted to begin with, and his shady behaviors as a kid resulting in his self-fulfilling prophecy created by his own father, and his negative experience with people have made him the person he is now. I watched the drama and it failed to deliver Jung. it failed to bring the complexity of Jung onto the screen and I was disappointed because I was sure PHJ can make bring that different layers of Jung into life. So bad that the second half of the drama is a train wreck. However, I’m glad I watched it, it’s an emotional experience 🙂

@dubuo Yes introverts are tend to get misunderstood because they can’t express themselves very well, I can relate with that because I’m an introvert too 🙂 Jung is an enigma, his complex personality really is too big for 16 episodes drama. Let’s just read the webtoon to see more of him and his fascinating personality, hopefully we will get the happy ending too for Jung and Seol!

couldn’t agree more! you wrote all the citt’s things in my head!
pd-nim and the production team seems don’t really understand sul and jung character well, so they didn’t know how the end the drama. and I think citt drama viewers should read this, so they didn’t misunderstood about jung character, sul feeling towards jung and their relationship. because the drama cut off so many beautiful and deep scene between jung and sul. thankyou for writing this beautiful review :*

@kyz Thanks for your comment! I think Jung’s complex personality deserve more than 16 episodes, that’s why the webtoon consists of 4 season, this drama is really not giving him any justice. Not only him but Seol too. She’s just degraded into Jung and Inho’s object of affection on the last few episodes. Let’s hope Jung will get his happy ending with Seol in the webtoon 🙂

Sorry if I come too late. I have read the webtoon up till season 3 and have read several of season 4. It’s true Jung inner thought got more explore compare to drama. But I think I feel I can connect with Yoo Jung version of drama better. While Soonki explore it better, It doesn’t add much empathy in me. Why? The reason is, Yoo Jung show more emotion and more feel insecure. in crucial moment such when they break up, or when they make up again in a drama . The potrayal in the drama is different compare to the webtoon. The way PHJ interpreted YJ, Yoo Jung seems more introvert and far insecure to lose Hong Seol. I don’t find the same vibe when SOonki drawing YJ. He is much more confident on Seol’s feeling towards him and far more friendlier, I don’t find him fully introvert at all, because it seems he is capable of making a good jokes and like to messing around especially Seol, He can be friendly around children better than Hong Seol, so he is not trully introvert. it makes him far scarier and more ambigious as a character, I don’t know how to feel about him. HE is abit too perfect for me. Even if YJ is admiting that He is afraid to lose her, But it seems it’s not geniune for me. The way Soonki Interpreted YJ, especially when they explore about Yo Jung feeling towards HOng Seol in the past, makes me questiong his feeling to Hong Seol even more. I even came to the conclusion it seems Soon Ki doesn’t know how to draw Yoo Jung expression, but seems it’s not the case. In conclusion, I feel more emotionally connected towards Yo Jung in the drama despite limit screen time, Because I can feel his insecured, his fear of losing her, he is still capable of showing fear. But Yoo Jung in the webtoon is far more ambigitious for me and it makes me want to analyzed him.

@missjb Hi thank you for your insightful comment, I agree that in the drama Yoo Jung is more vulnerable, serious and insecure. In order to understand his character, he needs more character development and it’s such a pity the PD switch the focus to the second main lead halfway the show. So let’s hope Yoo Jung will have his happy ending in the webtoon 🙂

Yes i agree with your comment. I read up to newest ch season 4 where jung still doing his manipulative way, to baek inha but still made seol involved. He confessed he still afraid to lose seol, cause seol can live without him, still have friends like bora and euntaek. I don’t sympathize at him at all.

But in drama (up to 11 episodes) i saw jung really changes gradually. From he asked seol to date him (out of jealousy to baek in ho), acting like nothing happen and still choosing his friend over lovey dovey couple with seol (like in webtoon, he choose friends over gf), but finally begin to wonder when seol didn’t contact him at all. Or like first text messages as a couple, jung throw his phone and continue playing games, but after a while he was excited and can’t wait to text seol.

Little details in drama like that really help me like jung more. But in webtoon, i still questioning why he likes seol. His manipulative way and too many flashbacks in the past really made me think he deserved this karma all along. But poor seol got all the aftermath

Finally! I thought I was the only one thinking about these things! Jung and Seol are just perfect for each other. She can be the answer or the ‘cure’ to his weird/dark personality. Jung on the otherhand can help Seol to take off some of her worries and problems since she’s the type to keep everything bottled up to herself. In regards to Jung’s behavior, I think of it as some kind of defense mechanism. He doesn’t trust people around him since they approach him with hidden motive. As result, he protects himself by controlling the people around him. As a child, it looks like he did not feel sincerely loved. Up to now, people approach him because of his looks, money, brain and power. He even feel that his own dad thinks his weird and his mom is always travelling. This might sound twisted but at times I feel like the people who Jung manipulated kinda deserves it. People around him are just like leeches. Specially Inha who was financially supported but she took all this blessing to granted. She is so shameless for not even doing anything to stand to her own feet. But I guess she too have some issues in the past leading her to act that way. I’m thinking because people around her even Inho thinks that she is so talentless. But I’m not sure because based from the past, she is already wicked. I’m also curious about Jung’s father. Is he sincere about helping Inho and Inha? Or is it because he taught it will straigthen out Jung’s personality. It also seems that he had some personality issue like Jung in the past although to a lesser degree. Haha this comment is already long. Anyway, I really like this review. Nicely done! Can’t wait to read more about CITT and I don’t want it to end yet~ have a nice day

Jung seems to show some kind of Self-righteous Indignation(Anger Issue which triggers when he is mistreated/insulted) borderline personality disorder. While I do agree that they do balance one another out, if Sul decides to take this relationship seriously, she should look into the root of Jung’s anger and how to deal with his narcissism(most importantly his lack of empathy). I mean, at this point of the webtoon – talking about season 4 here, it still revolves most around Sul’s Uni life. I do hope the author will end the webtoon nicely with all loose ends tied up. And I can’t wait for when Jung really decides to show Sul the other side of him.

thanks so much for this review/discussion of their relationship! i loved it but i’m sorry this comment is suuuuper long and suuuuper late. i just finished watching–well, from episode 1 to episode 12 only. it was recommended by a friend. but you know what, i might not continue, no matter how much i love this drama to bits (moreover, how much i love this couple).

it’s because by episode 9…i was already feeling uneasy everytime it’s a scene with InHo! so i did a quick research and found in a lot of articles including wikipedia that fans were so disappointed because of the undue focus given to the secondlead. and i was disappointed, too. really. despite the awesome OST. after episode 12, i just read the recaps for the last 4 episodes–i mean i had no problem with them separating for a while in the end, i think they needed that, especially Jung, but i think the time spent on the secondlead should’ve been the time spent to reveal why Jung is the way he is. but they didn’t do that. so for those who haven’t read the webtoon yet but easily sensed that thought-provoking difference between Jung’s dark side and the real evil that lurks in this cruel world (you know, people who steal from others in more unimaginable ways) and that his past had something to do with his present mindset, I was left worried that those who didn’t catch that same gist might really think that Jung has those psychotic tendencies, which I (and we all) believe is highly unlikely.

and yes, i also felt betrayed, especially for PHJ (he’s an amazing actor, THE perfect Yoo Jung, especially with those spot-on facial expressions he didn’t even need to put so much effort, you just see his gaze and you know right away…he’s such a natural and can ease into his character without problem, or overconfidence, or lack of any emotion even if it’s a passive one–just pure dedication that’s actually kind of humbling–why did they do this to him?!).

okay I’m sorry, my comment is getting longer than i had planned LOL. but can i ask, does the webtoon explain clearly why Jung is so drawn to Seol? and how did those feelings really start? because i think that would really help me get excited to read the webtoon thoroughly. thanks so much in advance!!

PS I’m just going to do the marathon everytime from ep 1 to 12 only–i don’t think i can watch the last episodes knowing that’s what they did to Jung. i’d like to imagine that’s the ending: that Seol finally understands after Jung revealed to her how Inho badmouthed him before (how inho really thinks of him) while Inho admits defeat as he finds Jung’s car parked outside the noodle shop (yes, his girlfriend is tending to his wounds because he’s her boyfriend, take that InHo!).